John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

6. V:30. Coll. Richard M. Johnson, one of the Senators from Kentucky, called at the Office with Mr Charles Todd, who is going as an Agent to the Republic of Colombia. Johnson came to take leave, intending to go for home on Monday. Todd came to make enquiries concerning his agency; compensation, traveling expences and the mode of his conveyance, whether by a public or private vessel. All which remain for the determination of the President. The two Senators from Rhode-Island, Burrill and Hunter came to intercede for T. L. Halsey, to obtain his re-appointment as Consul at Buenos-Ayres— I repeated to them all the charges which stand proved against Halsey, shewing that he is not a trusty man, and that he had made himself as obnoxious to the Government at Buenos-Ayres, as to his own— That I believed therefore it was quite out of the question that he should be sent there again— That my own opinion in the case was decisively made up; but that the decision would of course be made upon that of the President. They asked me, if I thought it probable the President would decide in favour of Halsey, if they should call upon him. I told them, I wished they would call upon him; for as I had and could have no possible motive for ill-will personally towards Halsey, I wished he might have the benefit of every thing that could be said in his favour; but I had no reason to believe that the President’s opinion would be changed in this case— They left me, intending as I supposed to call upon the President, but they did not. Messrs. Dana and Otis, Senators from Connecticut and Massachusetts, also called successively at the Office, upon private business of their own, and perhaps to ascertain the state of the Spanish Negotiation— Otis goes to-morrow or on Monday for Boston— I told him the Message would probably be sent in to Congress on Monday, and would recommend again the postponement of the subject until the next Session; upon the ground of the late change of Government in Spain— Otis intimated that the President had disclosed to individual members of Congress the actual state of the negotiation— This insinuation was perfectly characteristic in Otis. I told him that the President occasionally disclosed circumstances of negotiation to members of Congress, because he considered it safe and useful so to do, and sometimes to gratify their curiosity. I sometimes did the same thing, and perhaps with less discretion than the President; but many members of Congress had little scruple as to the time or character of their enquiries and it was better to tell them at once what could be told without material inconvenience, than to doubt the propriety of their enquiries, or to give them evasive answers. Otis himself has been as inquisitive as any one, and called two or three times within the week, at the Office, upon other affairs, to know exactly the phase of the political Planet— At one O’clock there was a meeting of the members of the Administration at the President’s— He had prepared the draft of a Message to Congress, to be sent with the Correspondence between me and Vives; but he was undecided whether to conclude by recommending a law for the immediate occupation of Florida; or a Law giving a discretionary power for taking possession, in the event of the non-ratification by Spain—or a postponement of acting upon the subject until the next Session. He had drawn different concluding paragraphs corresponding to these different views— Mr Crawford’s opinion was very decisive in favour of an immediate occupation; he said it was the last chance of obtaining the ratification of the Treaty—it would be completely justified by the conduct of Spain— If we should take possession now, the new Government of the Cortes finding us in possession, would consider it as an affair concluded before they came in to power, and would not object the Article of the Constitution against it— And if they should, we should have henceforth the advantage of negotiating with the object of negotiation in our own possession. But if we should not take possession now we should never hereafter obtain Florida, but by War— By an Article of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 to which the King has now sworn, he is expressly prohibited from alienating any 332portion of the Spanish territory however small, and by another Article the two Floridas are declared a part of the Spanish territory. There is no power given in the Constitution to the Cortes themselves to alienate the Spanish territory— They are to approve before ratification, Treaties offensive of alliance or subsidy, and special Treaties of Commerce, but the Constitution offers no lawful means of alienating Territory— If therefore when the Cortes assemble they find us already in possession, they will be glad to seize upon that incident to consider the whole affair as settled, and out of their competency, or if otherwise they will be too much engaged in affairs of more interest to themselves to go to War with us, at this moment, and we may indulge their scruples as to the right of negotiating as long as they please, holding in the meantime possession of the Country— In this opinion I concurred so far as to believe it indispensable that Congress should authorize the President to occupy the territory. Armed with this power, the President might give notice to the Spanish Government, that the ratification of the Treaty would yet be accepted, but that in any event the territory would be occupied. To the same opinion, Mr Thompson and Mr Wirt inclined. Calhoun was decidedly for recommending to Congress to postpone acting upon the subject till the next Session— His first argument was the want of time— Both houses have agreed to adjourn next Monday week, the 15th. There is therefore only one week that they have to act; during which they will be excessively oppressed with other business— The members are all impatient to go home; many are already gone, and numbers will be falling off every day next week— Upon a measure so important as that of directing or authorizing an act of War, Congress will be extremely reluctant at acting at such a Stage of the Session; and even if there should be little debate a week is scarcely sufficient for a Bill to go through the ordinary forms in both houses— To this I replied that the mere convenience of the members of Congress ought to have no weight upon an occasion so important as this— It would be a public duty, which Congress must discharge, upon their own responsibility— If they have not time within the term upon which they have agreed for their adjournment, they can fix the close of the Session at a more distant day— Calhoun then said, that after the recent change in the Government of Spain, it would be impolitic, and quite contrary to the feelings of the People of this Country to begin by an act of hostility to them. It was very doubtful whether a majority in Congress would at any period of the Session, have authorized the occupation of Florida— He was convinced they would not take such a step now. The result of the recommendation would be therefore a disagreement between the Executive and the Legislature. The distressed situation of Spain had been suggested by the Message of 27 March as a reason for postponing any decisive measure till the next Session—the same reason still continued, and the message might say something favourable of the recent revolution there, which would bespeak the good-will of those newly come into power— This became at once a leading idea— But it was observed that the distressed state of Spain was in mentioned in the Message of 27 March as a reason for delay, to wait for the arrival for the Minister who was to come for explanations—as it was supposed those circumstances might have delayed his departure; this could not now be assigned. Mr Wirt recurred to the Message, and thought that the effect of the distress in delaying the departure of the Minister, was assigned distinctly as a separate reason from that of the distress itself. But I reminded him that when that Message was discussed, it was introduced as a modification which was thought necessary to warrant any reference to the State of Spain; and to avoid any appearance of disapproving the movement of the troops at the Island of Leon— The reason now to be assigned must obviously be altogether different, and I suggested that instead referring to the condition of Spain as distressed, it should rather be presented as one of relief from distress and of hope— A revolution favourable to the prospects of the people had been accomplished. An oppressive and detestable despotism had been destroyed— The inquisition had been abolished— The press made free—the Prisons opened and disgorged of all their political victims—and all this effected with unexampled moderation, with out any sacrifice of blood, except the massacre at Cadix of which the people were not the authors, but the sufferers. There had been no popular violence, no outrages upon humanity— The message might express the hope that the revolution would promote the happiness of the Spanish Nation, and derive a presage of that result from the moderation and humanity which have hitherto attended its progress— The President determined to take this into consideration. 333A question was made whether it might not be necessary to postpone sending the Message to Congress until Tuesday— It has been expected every day this week; and the impatience for its appearance is excessive both in and out of Congress.— But by a handbill from Boston, received by the mail of this day by Mr Otis, and which he sent me, it appears that the Brig Edward Foster arrived there from Malaga last Tuesday, and that Richard S. Hackley formerly Consul at Cadix came passenger in her, with despatches from Mr Forsyth— The rumour of his having brought with him the ratified Treaty proves as groundless as other rumours from the same source— As he is however said to have left Madrid the 21st. of March it seems necessary to delay the Message until his despatches arrive. It was agreed on all sides that there was nothing in the Note of Vives which of itself could warrant a recommendation to Congress to postpone acting until the next Session. Mr Thompson thought the tenour of his Note insulting, and all thought it quite unsatisfactory. I said perhaps it would be proper to reply to it before sending the papers to Congress— This was left undecided; but the President twice intimated to me, that for my own sake, I should write to ask Vives what he meant by the verbal discussions with me, which he proposes reporting to his Government, and urging as motives for them to be satisfied with the explanations concerning the South American point— He thought that if left unexplained that passage might give rise to insinuations like those of Genet against Mr Jefferson, that I had a language Official and a language confidential— On returning to my Office therefore, I immediately wrote Vives a Note asking him to specify what I had said in the verbal discussion to which he alluded, and which he proposed reporting to his Government— I left orders at the Office to have it open to-morrow after the arrival of the Mail, in expectation of receiving the despatches brought by Hackley— Mrs Adams passed the Evening at Mr Hyde de Neuville’s— I spent it in anxious reflection at home.